The people behind the Kaiser Chiefs and Primal Scream are backing a new website that allows music fans to invest financially as well as emotionally in hotly tipped new acts. You mean slicethepie.com? Why, n o. This “new” venture dreamed up by a music business lawyer (brilliant) and backed by the founder of Friends Reunited. Bandstocks lets you buy a stake in an artist in £10 slices. Once funding reaches a certain level, for example £100,000, the money will be released for the act to record an album – and you even get a credit in the sleeve notes. So what? Those of you considering a career in the music business will have already watched our incomprehensible advice videos from the head of marketing at Warner International. The fragrant Matthieu says you have to show some kind of interest in the biz to get a job inside – if you haven’t got the time to manage a band or set up a fanzine (his suggestions) do this. Hell, you’ll be putting your money where your mouth is and that’s a rarity in today’s music industry. Right, kids?! 

Its not often people have something bad to say about Apple, so forgive me if I leap at the chance to report that the company is investigating a possible defect on their iPod Nano. Two of them have overheated, causing minor burn damage – a defect in the lithium-ion battery while it charges is suspected – and a single battery suppier for the first generation Nano has been blamed. As always, both cases happened in Japan and Apple have said if your concerned you should contact them. While they put you on hold can I suggest you download the following: Disco inferno; Burning Down the House, and anything by Sparks.

HMV has turned its bike around and seen its profits grow by 25%. That means it will accelerate the roll out of its new style stores. Last year boss man Simon Fox told everyone to iron their brown trousers as he embarked on a 3 year strategy to get the business back on its feet. He would have been happy to have broken even, so to get a sizeable profit means he’ll be very popular indeed. Video games and new products like the Wii have been a big booster. The new look stores include “transactional kiosks” (?!) and gaming areas. The new store in Heathrow’s T5 has been fitted out in this way and seen huge sales growth. The brand also plans to launch a loyalty card this autumn. Looks like HMV is here to stay.

You know how you keep having to show your mum or sugar daddy how to use the Sky+ or predictive text? That’s a career now. The official term for the young teaching the old new gadget tricks is “reverse mentoring.” The media giant Time Warner is employing “tech-savvy” students to give 90min coaching sessions to senior leaders – at $500 a pop! The execs get taken through the capabilities of the iPod and iPhone, as well as shown how to make the most of MySpace, LinkIn and FaceAche. How un-cool is that?!

For several of the summer’s biggest events - from Reading and Leeds festivals to Lovebox and the O2 Wireless Festival, the only cider that punters will be able to buy on-site will be Gaymer’s. That’s a £4m marketing gamble for John Mills the boss of the brewer with so-called “pouring rights” have been locked in until 2010 at several festivals. The firm launched its “unisex” Gaymers Original as a means to piggy-back on the success of rival Magners, and when it came to marketing it, music quickly emerged as “the perfect fit”.  It has the dubious honour of being the official cider at Glastonbury - held just 10 miles from its factory at Shepton Mallet.